Insaitable Cruise
by ChloboShoka
Summary: Ritchie and his family hop on Insatiable - a luxury river cruise, where he is reunited with his friend Ash. What is meant to be the trip of a lifetime becomes the holiday from hell when the captain is brutally murdered, the crew become possessed and the ghost is hijacked by deranged spirits. Can Ritchie find a way to end the curse?
1. Chapter 1

The idea for this fic came to me after playing so many awesome indie horror games and my experience on a cruise.

 **Insatiable Cruise**

Chapter One

* * *

 _ **Kanto Times**_

 _ **20th October 2018**_

 _The world was wowed by the newly veiled ship Insatiable Friday morning. Whilst it is only a fraction the size of S. S. Anne, Insatiable still contains all the glitz and glamour of it's bigger counterparts. Insatiable has only three decks, but each cabin has their own balcony, outdoor swimming pool, their own butler and maids and unlimited internet usage. The boat also contains a 24-hour buffet, a fine dining restaurant, a library, a games room, a gym, and shops._

 _"I'm thoroughly excited," says Kanto expat, Luke Wright. "My wife and I are in the master's suite which includes our own bar! Perfect for our honeymoon. My new wife Rebecca is a teacher and a highly respected member of the community both in the UK and Japan. She works very hard."_

 _Insatiable will leave Vermillion City docks tomorrow evening, where she will entertain her first passengers. She travels to the deepest parts of Japan and makes stops around the Orange and Sevii Islands. She will return to Vermillion on the 1st November._

* * *

"What a pompous git!" Ritchie's stepmother, Mitzi Hunt throws her copy of the Kanto Times underneath the driver's seat. "Of all the people we could be on the boat with, it has to be him!"

"Mitzi!" Ritchie rolled his eyes. "You can't call him that. He's technically going to be our neighbours for two weeks."

"Let me put it to you this way. Your mother and I know a thing or two about parasites." She pats her partner, Susan Ashworth. "Right Susan?"

Susan shrugged her shoulders. "Since when did you become an expert?"

"I learned from you I guess."

Although Mitzi wants the front seat, Ritchie's mother always saved the front row to her darling babies. By babies, she meant her old cat Teacup and her feline pokémon. Teacup was snoozing on the dashboard. Ritchie considered him to be the oldest and scruffiest cat in the world. Even though Susan's pokémon cats' powers and stamina outshined Teacup – he would always be Susan's top cat.

After all, Ritchie's mother was the infamous cat lady who liked to play the piano in the middle of the night. For some reason oblivious to Ritchie, she keeps weapons under her bed. As crazy as she was, he loved his mother to bits.

Ever since he left to start his pokémon journey at ten, he always caught a cat pokémon as a present for his mother on her birthday. Until he was thirteen, he always sent home a meowth. Ant and Dec stayed at home, whilst Deeley (now a Persian) made herself comfy under the passenger's seat in the front row.

Ever since discovering the pokémon outside of Kanto's pokédex, he continued to send his mother more cats for her birthday. But the names made no sense after that. She called her delcatty Blueberry, her purugly Pancakes, her liepard Diva and her litten Tomato. However, Ritchie did think that calling her litleo Simba was an epic reference to her favourite Disney movie. It was his favourite Disney movie too.

Pancakes was chilling on the car's roof whilst Blueberry, Pancakes, Diva and Tomato cuddled together on the seat next to Susan.

"This car is stuffed with cats!" Ritchie said.

Mitzi nodded. "That's how we like it."

"We might have to put them back in their pokéballs. If Officer Jenny catches Pancakes on the roof again, she might fine you this time."

"She'll be too busy chasing real criminals."

"Not just that," Ritchie continued. "The car will go a lot quicker if you take them in their balls. Plus, I don't think Sparky will appreciate being squashed by Pancake's bottom."

"Get the balls out, Mitzi!" Susan demanded as she opened all the windows. All the feline pokémon were teleported back to their balls with the exception of Diva who whipped her love ball away with her tail.

Ritchie picked up the Kanto Times when it blew to his lap. "Who is Luke Wright anyway?"

"He calls himself a businessman," Susan responded looking at her son through the driver's mirror. "He's also a player. He drinks alcohol like it's going out of fashion and he cheated on his first wife multiple times."

"But he might have changed since then."

Susan shook her head. "People like him never change. Once a cheat, always a cheat."

"Do you know anyone else that's going?" Ritchie asks his parents.

"Apparently our good neighbour Joe Davis is coming."

"Mom, why do you have to be so sarcastic all the time? Joe's not bad, he's just lonely. He lost his wife."

"That was eighteen years ago," Mitzi said, lighting up another cigarette. Ritchie sighed. He told Mitzi time and time again not to smoke in front of his pokémon - especially Sparky. His pikachu hated having smoke in his face. He contemplated whether to tell her or not, but in the end, Sparky's angry face pushed him to speak.

"Mitzi...what have I told you about smoking?"

"That it's bad for you, bad for the environment, pollutes the earth, etcetera, etcetera."

Ritchie pouted his lips and leaned over to towards Mitzi in the back seat. "How many times do I have to tell you that Sparky hates people smoking in front of him?"

"Technically I'm not in front of him – I'm beside him."

"If it gets too much," Susan interrupted. "Sparky can always go on the roof since it's free."

"PIKA!" Sparky hopped out of the window and sulked on the roof.

"Are we there yet?" Mitzi asked. "I can almost smell the air of Vermillion City."

"I didn't know Vermillion had a smell." Susan glanced over at Mitzi through the mirrors.

"Of course, it has a smell. You know the smell of sea salt, and seafood from the harbour restaurants."

Susan didn't smile much, but Mitzi was able to make her smile. They never cared much for Christmas or birthdays, only making an effort for Ritchie he came home. Despite the family love, something always felt odd about his parents. It had nothing to do with the fact there were two women, but Susan always had a look of absence.

He found it hard to believe that they were related. She looked depressed with her pale facial expressions, but she always insisted that she was fine, and that he wasn't to worry about her.

"Mom, for somebody who is about to go on holiday, you look miserable."

"You always say I look miserable."

"You can at least try to smile," Ritchie told her. "You won this holiday. This is the first family vacation we've had in years. We should make the most of it!"

"And I bet when you get on that boat you'll be busy fighting trainers!" Susan said, pulling over in one of the car parks.

Mitzi removed her seatbelt. "Do you think your friend Youngster Joey and his Ratatta will be there?"

Ritchie shrugged his shoulders. "He might be."

Last night, Ritchie overheard his parents talking and he discovered some family secrets. He had no plans to confront his parents about it now, it wasn't the right time nor place. Mitzi and Susan have had a rough life before he was born and just wanted to enjoy himself with his lovely little family.

The three of them, including Sparky on Ritchie's shoulder, made a casual walk down the port. Ritchie had been on S.S Anne before and loved it, and he was looking forward to the trip, even more, when he saw a guy on the boat with a pikachu on his shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The Ashworth family were welcomed like royalty. They were greeted by attentive staff in-between a red carpet with golden linings. Within ten seconds of making it through, the flashing cameras came out. Ritchie watched her mother try and hide in her black jacket.

Her pokémon, of course, enjoyed the attention and complimentary snacks.

Mitzi nudged her shoulder. "Come on Susan, let's smile for the camera."

"Yes, Mom! Let's do it."

"Fine."

One more flash from the camera and they were free to go. Ritchie scurried upstairs onto the top deck. He called out his friend's name from the top of his voice. "ASH!"

"RITCHIE?"

Ash dashed towards Ritchie and gave him a high-five so hard it hurt. "Ash. It's so good to see you. It's been so long since I last saw you." The first time Ritchie met Ash, they got on like a house on fire. They were both aspiring pokémon trainers aiming to be the best they can be.

"I know." Ash smiled at Ritchie and patted his shoulder. "It's been way too long."

"I'm here with my mom and stepmom. My mom won this holiday."

"I'm with my mom too!"

"Really? Did you win the holiday too?"

Ash shook his head. "Well being a pokémon master gave me an unlimited bank balance."

"Of course, it's hard to believe that you're a pokémon master now."

"It's a shame that my girlfriend couldn't make it. So, I decided to bring Mom along instead. She'll be happy."

Ritchie took a step back. "How come you didn't bring your girlfriend with you?"

Ash lowered his voice and his lips quivered. "She's expecting."

"Expecting what?" Ritchie enquired. "A baby?"

Ash hushed him. "I don't want anyone else to know yet."

Ritchie dropped her mouth. "Not even your own mother?"

"I need to find the right time."

Ritchie didn't understand what he meant by that. If Ritchie knew he was going to be a father, his parents would have been the first to know. Though being the single and happy young chap he was, he was glad for once not to be in Ash's shoes.

"But you just told me, and we haven't spoken in years."

"I trust you though."

"You trust me more than your own mother." It was a compliment, but one Ritchie felt awkward to accept. He looked over at Sparky who shrugged his shoulders in confusion. The topic was quick to be dropped when both pikachus began playing with each other.

"Say Ritchie, any chance that woman in the wedding dress is your mother?"

Ritchie pointed to the plank where Ash was pointing. Ritchie couldn't see any women on the plank, let alone anybody in a wedding dress. Ritchie took a few steps towards the plank. His eyes squinted. "Hey Sparky, can you see a woman in a wedding dress?"

"Pika!"

"No, I can't see anybody there."

"Are you sure?" Ash asked, his voice grating in Ritchie's ear. "I'm sure I saw her with reddish hair."

"Ash… my mom has black hair. And there's no way on this planet will you ever see her in a wedding dress. Well, my mom loves wearing black – I've never seen her wear white."

Ash shook his head. "It must have been my imagination. Though it's funny you say your mom never wears white – mine never wears black."

"Since you're here, maybe we can have a match."

A member of the crew interrupted. "Excuse me! No pokémon battles are allowed on the cruise."

"WHAT?" Ash and Ritchie gasped in unison. They didn't understand why they couldn't, but they had to respect the rules. "

"Sorry," the cabin crew member bowed before speaking more. "It's because that this is a smaller ship and that an assessment has been made. To put it simply to you guys, the ship is too small to take part in a safe pokémon battle here."

Ash gritted his teeth, but he nodded at the crew member and placed his balls back in his pocket. "What a shame." He lowered his head and Pikachu tapped on his head. "I really wanted to battle you again Ritchie."

"It's okay, we can have a battle as soon as we get on the first port."

Ash's depressed state faded into a bright smile. "Yes. What a great idea. How come I never thought of that?"

"Maybe you're in holiday mode."

The holiday mode didn't last for long as in the corner of the boat they saw a lady drenched in blood. "Hey, Ritchie!" Ash whispered. "Do you see that woman?"

"Yeah, how come nobody else is saying anything."

"Excuse me," Ash called one of the crew members but they said nothing. He then tried to touch one to get their attention, but his arm went straight through them. In shock, Ash jumped back and crashed into Ritchie.

"What's going on?"

"We'll have to go straight to the captain."

"Where's the captain's office?"

Ash pointed to the staircase. "I think it's up here."

Ritchie followed Ash up the stairs and halted as Ash tried banging on the door. "Hello! Captain! Can you open up? We need you! Ritchie help me bang this door down."

"Okay!"

Together they charged into the door with their shoulders. The door slammed down. "Oh. My. God."

There was no captain. Instead, there was an old woman with a pale face and ghostly appearance hovering around the office.

"Welcome to my humble office boys. How may I help you?"

Ritchie's lips froze as he was about to speak. Gulping, Ash took over from him. Their pokémon cowered behind their trainers back. Even Ash was struggling to speak at the sight of maggots feasting on a captain's corpse.

"We…w-wanted to speak…to t-the c-c-c-captain."

"As you can see, the captain is dead. So, I will be your new captain from now on." The woman has a distinct exotic accent for a lady of her age.

"Who are you?"

"I go by many names. Some pleasant – and some not so nice. One name that's always stuck with me is the Queen of Maggots – detested and adored by all."

Ash dragged Ritchie out of the room and slammed the door. "That…escalated quickly. We need to find a way out of here."

Like a magnetic force, the two boys were dragged back into the room as the door locked itself. The Queen of Maggots stood up. "Oh, boys, leaving so soon are we? Please sit down and have some tomato soup."

A haunter appeared with a bowl in his floating hands and two spoons levitating towards the table. Another haunter prepared two chairs. The bowl hit the table with a mighty crash and a splash of red hit the corner of Ash's lips. He licked his mouth. "What sort of tomato soup is this?"

Ritchie pulled Ash's arm down. "No way is that tomato soup."

"Ritchie…I know I shouldn't but it's been a long day and I'm hungry."

"It tastes sweet and metallic."

Ritchie cringed. Unable to keep his mind off the purveyed remains of the captain. Wherever he is, he can't be that far. "I know you like your food but this is no time to think about food."

"How conservative of you Ritchie," the Queen of Maggots laughed in his face. "I see your mothers raised you well. Oh, if only you knew what happened before you were born."

The sound of thunder blended with vicious laughter filled the halls. Ritchie looked over at Ash who was still eating the soup. With each sip, he was evolving more and more into a pig. He shook Ash's demented body. "Ash. You've got to stop. It will kill you."

"Don't bother. Let him finish every last drop since you were too cowardly to try it yourself."

Ritchie clenched his fist and stood up. "I'M NOT EATING BLOOD!"

"No, and yet your friend is gobbling every last drop. Must be good soup."

"What's going on?"

"Plenty is going on."

"Who are you really?"

"I'm a friend of your mother. I was there for her in her darkest times. I brushed her hair when she cried to sleep. I revived her when she overdosed on tablets."

"NO!" Ritchie didn't want to hear it. He knew his mother had problems with mental health and had to be sectioned when he was five. "She recovered from that."

"Naïve little fool. Your mother will never recover. Your sister was only six months old when she died. Her husband drunk himself to death because of it. Ever noticed why your mother disliked flowers?"

"No wonder Mom didn't want anything to do with you." Ritchie yelled as projections of his mother sobbing in a red dress littered the walls. Echoes of howling meows as the maid from earlier, grotesque as ever rolled into the room and began to multiply. A part of him was relieved, his heartbeat was back to normal. His head burned from the images of his mother's despair.

Blood-stained smoke polluted the room as violet ghosts roamed in and out of the room. Ritchie's vision faded to apache blurs. His body boiled but his neck froze from the weight of the transparent hands.

Choking blocked his cries for help.

Just as the end was nigh, the howling echoes ceased at the simple sound of clacking heels.

"What are you doing?" It was a soft voice from a woman. Ritchie's vision, still blurry could only see a woman with black hair and in a wedding, dress stamping her food. "Leave him alone." She stamped her feet again, go away!"

The ghosts left taking their disgusting scenery with them. The Queen of Maggots was nowhere to be seen. Panting, Ritchie jumped up and found himself surrounded by darkness. "Where am I? Hello? Ash? Sparky? Anyone?"

"It's okay."

Ritchie glanced around and saw the bride that rescued him. Behind her was a faint figure of an anorexic woman who looked so much like him. The woman behind the bride vanished. "Who's that woman behind you."

"You don't have to worry about a thing. We'll protect you."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I'm Agnes. That's all you need to know."

"PIKA PI!"

"RITCHIE!"

"Mom!" Ritchie hissed, lost for breath. He opened his eyes and found himself in his mother's arms and surrounded by doctors.

"Ritchie…what happened to you?"

"I don't know."

"He just started ventilating," Ash spoke suddenly. "Then he fainted."

"What's going on?" Ritchie grumbled.

"It's okay," Susan squeezed Ritchie in her arms in a way she rarely ever does. "You're safe now."


End file.
